![]() ![]() Section 504 and the ADA require that “reasonable accommodations” must be provided for an individual who can establish that he has a “disability” and that he is “otherwise qualified” to participate in the sport or activity in question. The MHSAA argued that the intent of limiting the interpreter to the coach’s box was a safety rationale – to prevent a collision between the interpreter and the wrestlers or the referee.įollowing a year of unsuccessfully requesting an accommodation from the MHSAA to allow his sign language interpreter to move around the perimeter of the mat in order to maintain eye contact with him, on December 3, 2015, Kempf filed a lawsuit in a federal district court against the MHSAA alleging violations of Section 504, the ADA and the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act. However, during MHSAA-sanctioned competitions, the interpreter was restricted to the coach’s box at the corner of the mat where he was often out of Kempf’s line of sight, resulting in an inability to access instructions from his coach being communicated by the interpreter, to receive information from the referee via the interpreter, and often to even know when matches began and ended. However, for safety reasons, he cannot wear the external cochlear hardware during matches, leaving him completely deaf and unable to hear his coach or the referee.ĭuring non-sanctioned competitions, Kempf had been using an American Sign Language interpreter provided by his district, the Royal Oaks Schools, and the interpreter was allowed to move freely around the perimeter of the 28-foot-diameter Active Wrestling Circle on the mat so that Kempf could maintain eye contact with him regardless of Kempf’s body position during the match. At age 2, he suffered a 100% loss of his hearing after a life-threatening bout of meningitis, and at age 5, he received cochlear implants that partially restored his hearing. The Michigan High School Athletic Association: The DisputeĮllis Kempf, 18, is a hearing impaired wrestler at Royal Oak (Michigan) High School who competes in the 152-pound weight class and serves as the captain of his school’s varsity squad. The full text of the OCR Dear Colleague letter is available at An examination of the Kempf lawsuit highlights the responsibilities of governing bodies and school districts to students based on three key pieces of federal legislation – Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA). The document is filled with common sense examples of easy-to-implement modifications to athletics competitions such as visual cues for a hearing impaired track athlete being used simultaneously with a starter pistol at the beginning of races, alteration of the two-hand touch rule for a one-handed swimmer, and school assistance with glucose testing and insulin administration for a diabetic student-athlete. The focus of the guidance is on the duty to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure both equal opportunity for disabled students to participate and equal opportunity during participation. General Accountability Office (GAO) study published in 2010 concluding that students with disabilities are not being afforded an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics in public elementary and secondary schools and sets forth a summary of federal disability law requirements applicable to direct or indirect recipients of federal funds such as school districts and state athletics or activities associations. ![]() The case also demonstrates the value of governing bodies and school districts adopting a collaborative approach to developing and implementing reasonable accommodations for disabled students in order to maximize their opportunity to participate in sports on a level playing field with other student-athletes. ![]() Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to issue its Janu“Dear Colleague” letter clarifying the sports participation rights of students with disabilities. Michigan High School Athletic Association, illustrates the legal issues that prompted the U.S. The Decemsettlement of a disabilities-related lawsuit, Kempf v. ![]()
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